SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, JANUARY 24, 2015
Sailors unable to douse Devils
First-period deficit
leaves Sailors
struggling
B Y N ED H ICKSON
Siuslaw News
L OWELL : 64 M APLETON : 48
The Sailors were able to
hold their own for the most part
during the final three quarters
of Tuesday’s matchup with the
Devils in Lowell, but a first-
period scoring drought for the
Sailors left Mapleton trailing
23-6 to start the second period.
“We put up a decent fight
against the league’s No. 3
team,” said Mapleton coach
Will Crook. “But we dug our-
selves into a hole early that we
couldn’t dig ourselves out of.
“Our shots just weren’t
falling.”
The Sailors fought back
throughout the next three quar-
ters, outscoring Lowell 42
points to 31 for the remainder
of the game.
“We fought back with
stingey defense and aggressive
offense by Tucker Ford and
Hunter Simington,” said
Crook.”
The senior forward and jun-
ior guard combined for 11
steals and 34 of Mapleton’s
eventual 48 points in the game.
“We played well at times but
weren’t able to put together a
complete game,” said Crook,
whose team will host Siletz on
Friday, Jan. 30.
Last night, the Sailors hosted
McKenzie (after press dead-
lines).
“We’re hoping to get a large
home crowd at both games,”
said Crook.
Ford led scoring against
Lowell with 21 points, two
rebounds, four steals and one
blocked shot. Simington had 13
points, seven rebounds and
three steals.
Senior guard Chris Free had
seven points, five rebounds,
two steals and three blocked
shots. Sophomore guard Tyler
Packebush had four points and
two rebounds.
Freshman guard Daniel
Collins had three points and
two rebounds for the Sailors.
Next Friday’s game at home
against Siletz tips off at 6 p.m.
Sea turtle continues recovery at aquarium
NEWPORT — Solstice the
turtle flapped her flippers in
water last week. This should be
business as usual for an olive
ridley turtle, but for Solstice it
is a significant milestone in her
journey toward recovery.
Solstice arrived at the
Oregon Coast Aquarium
hypothermic, dehydrated and
emaciated on Dec. 22. The sub-
adult turtle had ventured far
from the warm temperate
waters of her normal winter
range, landing on a Washington
beach where she was discov-
ered by a young couple and
then picked up by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
Solstice
successfully
warmed up to her ideal body
temperature, 75 degrees, on
Thursday, Jan. 1. Staff moni-
tored her condition to ensure
she was stable before transfer-
ring her to a rehabilitation pool
last week.
Her move back to an aquatic
habitat confirmed aquarium
staff’s fears; she has buoyancy
issues that prevent her from
diving below the water’s sur-
face. This is a common ailment
for distressed turtles and staff
are taking steps to keep her
comfortable.
“Her exposed shell is coated
with a lubricant so it does not
dry out, and we will be giving
her some more time in the
water to see if the air works
itself out,” said Jim Burke,
Director of Animal Husbandry.
“If it does not, the next steps
would include x-ray imaging
and manual removal of the air.
We hope the issue will resolve
itself before exposing her to
these more intensive proce-
dures.”
Despite this setback Solstice
is showing signs of improve-
ment. She now has a hearty
appetite, eating several times a
day, but she seems to have
selective taste. “She will
chomp down on capelin and
other fish without hesitation,
but spits out nutrient-packed
gel food supplement we offer
her,” Burke said.
These latest developments
are small steps in a lengthy
rehabilitation process for
Solstice.
Her
prognosis
remains uncertain, but aquari-
um staff harbor growing hope
for her recovery.
If all goes as planned, she
will need several months of
rehabilitation before the aquar-
ium can start to plan her release
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
The aquarium urges anyone
who finds a sea turtle on the
beach to keep their distance
and contact the Oregon State
Police Wildlife Hotline at 1-
800-452-7888 to ensure appro-
priate transport and care of the
delicate animal.
The Oregon Coast Aquarium
is open every day this winter
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For more information, visit
aquarium.org.
Avian flu virus found in wild malard at Fern Ridge
SALEM — Avian influenza
strain HPAI H5N2 has been
found in a mallard harvested by
a hunter at Fern Ridge Wildlife
Area near Eugene. The virus
strain, known as H5N8, poses
no immediate threat to human
health. It has been circulating
in Europe and East Asia and
has not made people sick.
The female mallard was
sampled Dec. 20, 2014, as part
of routine testing by ODFW,
USDA/APHIS, USGS and
USFWS. Testing for high path
avian influenza is done at sev-
eral labs including the OSU
Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in
Corvallis.
ODFW was notified of posi-
tive test results for the HPAI
H5N2 found in the Fern Ridge
mallard yesterday. It is the
same strain that was detected in
a pintail duck in northwestern
Washington state last month.
The strain has not caused
noticeable disease for Oregon’s
wild waterfowl, which have
evolved with the virus and usu-
ally do not get sick. The mal-
lard did not show signs of sick-
ness and there have been no
View
from 1B
end up in the Hall, if not voted
in proper, he will be brought in
by the veterans committee.
The same fate likely will
await Trammell.
Jeff Bagwell and first-timer
Gary Sheffield did not make
the cut, and Bagwell did not
show any great movement
from last year's vote. Both are
tarred with the suspicion of
PED use.
This also is why I left both
off my ballot. Piazza, too, has
had to dodge this question, but
I chose to look the other way.
Why? I am a hypocrite, I
guess. Maybe it’s because he’s
Catholic, or Italian, or because
he was clutch. Maybe because
he didn’t show signs of ’roid
rage when Roger Clemens
threw a baseball at his head
and a bat at his feet at the turn
of the century. Just spitballin'
here.
I wouldn’t give up on
Bagwell or Sheff, particularly
if Sheffield can mount an elo-
quent defense of his offensive
marks. That he was a loud-
mouth and considered to be a
clubhouse cancer should have
reports of any recent waterfowl
die-offs related to avian
influenza anywhere in North
America.
This detection follows a
December detection of another
avian influenza strain, HPAI
H5N8, in backyard poultry
near Winston, Ore. It marks the
second highly pathogenic avian
influenza virus identified in
Oregon.
The detection is not a sur-
prise for wildlife managers.
“After seeing initial results
from other states, we suspected
the HPAI strains (H5N2 and
H5N8) would be found in wild
waterfowl in Oregon,” said
Brandon Reishus, ODFW
migratory bird coordinator.
“California has also document-
ed the virus in waterfowl and it
has been found as far west as
Davis County, Utah.”
In the coming months these
birds will migrate back to nest-
ing areas to the north, poten-
tially spreading the virus to
new areas. Wild birds can pass
the influenza virus to their
species or other bird species
inhabiting shared wetlands or
through predator and prey
interactions.
While this strain often does
not sicken waterfowl, it may be
a threat to falcons and hawks,
which can exhibit symptoms
and die. ODFW is advising fal-
coners to refrain from hunting
wild waterfowl or feeding their
birds wild waterfowl meat or
organ tissue.
Hunters need to practice safe
bird handling.
• Wear rubber or latex gloves
when handling and cleaning
game birds.
• Do not eat, drink, smoke or
touch your face when handling
birds.
• Keep the game bird and its
juices away from other foods.
• Thoroughly clean knives
and any other equipment or
surfaces that touch birds. Use a
solution of one third cup of
chlorine bleach per one gallon
of water.
• Wash your hands with soap
and water for at least 20 sec-
onds after handling birds (or
with alcohol-based hand prod-
ucts if your hands are not visi-
bly soiled).
little bearing on his Hall
chances.
While he was outspoken, he
was not necessarily a detriment
to any team. Selfish? Perhaps.
But who cares? He could flat-
out hit. Bagwell and Edgar
Martinez will benefit by hav-
ing this class going to bat for
them. Johnson and Biggio
already have started their cam-
paigns in earnest, and their
voices will be considered.
The lost cause in all of this is
Don Mattingly. After all of
these years, all of the statistics,
I have to know when to kick
the habit. You can’t say I didn’t
go to bat for you, Hitman. If
there was a Hall of Very, Very
Good, though, you’d be my
first inductee.
Any sick domestic birds
should be reported to the State
Veterinarian’s office at 1-800-
347-7028.
Free light giveaway for
skaters, bikers Jan. 29
With shorter days upon us,
more commuters may find
themselves traveling home in
the dark. Point2point at Lane
Transit District wants to help
pedestrians and cyclists stay
safe during the darker winter
hours.
Staff will be distributing
free lights in Florence during a
“Be Seen, Be Safe Light
Giveaway” event on Thursday,
Jan. 29, from 4 to 6 p.m.
Also, Bicycles 101, 1537
8th Street, will be onsite offer-
ing free bicycle safety checks.
This event is free and open
to the public
For more information, call
Transportation
Options
Outreach
and
Events
Coordinator Cammie Harris at
541-682-6206 or email cam-
mie.harris@ltd.org.
SOLVE seeks project
leaders for Earth Day
SOLVE is currently accept-
ing applications for volunteers
to lead Earth Day projects for
the 26th annual SOLVE IT
event. SOLVE IT events will
take place across the state on
Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m. Also as part of
SOLVE IT, teachers are
encouraged to involve their
students in service-learning
activities any time between
April 13 and 24.
The deadline for applica-
tions is Saturday, Jan. 31.
Project leaders receive
assistance for Earth Day vol-
unteer projects, including free
project planning assistance
and training, event flyers and
pre-event publicity, online vol-
unteer
registration,
and
cleanup project supplies.
SOLVE also has a limited
number of grants of up to $100
for reimbursement of project
expenses.
The SOLVE IT program
supports Oregonians who help
take care of our parks, water-
ways and neighborhoods by
picking up trash, pulling inva-
sive weeds, planting trees and
taking care of watersheds in
other ways.
Last year, SOLVE IT helped
6,700 Oregonians volunteer at
more than 180 sites across
Oregon.
“The health and beauty of
Oregon depends on the volun-
teer leaders who step up and
commit to making a positive
difference in the environment
for Earth Day,” said Quintin
Bauer, SOLVE Statewide
Team Leader. “SOLVE is
ready to help individuals,
community groups and gov-
ernment agencies organize
successful volunteer events in
their community to take care
of the special natural areas,
parks and neighborhoods they
love.”
Since 1990, SOLVE IT vol-
unteers have removed more
than 15 million pounds of
invasive plants and litter from
illegal dumpsites, neighbor-
hoods, and natural areas.
Interested volunteer leaders
can visit www.solveoregon.
org to apply online, or call
SOLVE at 503-844-9571.
Gary Rose - President
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Bark - Over 6 Different Choices
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Ser vices:
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